I love finding little tableaus from the places we visit – these details bring out the story of place. Here (and this is the answer to yesterday’s question), Danish and Greenlandic artifacts decorate the wall of a sod house at the museum in Sisimiut, Greenland. Photo by Eric Guth.
Look at those smiles! I love to meet people so passionate about their work. Pilunnguaq Kleist and Nikoline Kreutzmann teach at Kalaallisuuliornermik Ilinniarfik, the School of National Clothing Education in Sisimiut. They are reviving the elaborate techniques needed to make traditional clothing and empowering their students to make tradition strong again. #meetthenorth #smile #greenland #sisimiut #pashfam…
Join Arctic Deeply as it learns about the kelp business in Sisimiut, Greenland. Meet Maki Ulrik Lybert as he works to revive this traditional food source. Maki had been a schoolteacher for more than 20 years when he envisioned a new business centered on seaweed. In Western Greenland, it’s common to have various jobs throughout the course of one’s…
Follow along with Arctic Deeply as it takes its first steps in Sisimiut, Greenland. The past and present come together as Meet the North is invited into Tukumminnguaq Olsen’s home for a family meal. I asked Tuku for a recommendation on who to meet next in order to get a better understanding of Greenlandic life (I’m fascinated by the…
(Post 1 of 5) Soriina Davidsen works with sealskin. “It is so beautiful, and it’s different every time.” She is a designer in Sisimiut and learned her craft through courses at the municipality and the Knud Rasmussen Folk School. The skins comes from hunters around Greenland who supply to a company called Great Greenlandic. Soriina…
(Post 2 of 5) This guy came into the sealskin and wool workshop in Sisimiut, Greenland as part of a calendar, and he never left. Three young women work here creating clothing out of sealskin and muskox wool. “The one who is washing the dishes can look at him.”
(Post 3 of 5) Soriina Davidsen, designer She is proud of these vests; the fabric is 100% sealskin. “I work a lot. At home, I don’t do any sewing. My boyfriend had to wait two years to get a zipper on his jacket.”
(Post 4 of 5) Vera Larsen, seamstress Vera learned this craft from Soriina. “We all have the feeling that the things can be more beautiful, but we are proud of what we make.”
(Post 5 of 5) Magdalene Berthelsen, knitter Magdalene she works with qiviut, the underfur of muskox. It’s an expensive fiber, but what you get is deliciously soft and several times warmer than lamb’s wool. “This one I’m really proud of. I just made it last week.”
“Maki” Ulrik Lybert. “If you want to survive in Greenland, you have to be able to do everything.” So this teacher became an entrepreneur. He’s banking it all on seaweed. It’s pure; it’s simple; it’s healthy . . . and it’s all over the place. Maki takes his boat out, drags the kelp up using…